This penne pasta recipe includes a quick and easy pasta sauce recipe, rich with garlic and herbs.

Surprisingly, it doesn’t take hours to simmer, but really is a 30 minute meal. While everything is cooking just make a quick salad and you’re done. Don’t you love meals like that? I sure do.

Penne Pasta with Italian Sausage

Ingredients

1 pound hot Italian sausage (or sweet Italian sausage if you prefer)

1 pound penne or cork-screw pasta

1 teaspoon vegetable oil or olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

28 ounces canned diced tomatoes, undrained

2 teaspoons dried basil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Pepper to taste

2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Method

Step 1

In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta until tender, but firm. Drain and return the pasta to the pot.

Step 2

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil over medium heat in a non-stick pan. Cook the sausage until it is just a bit pink in the centre, about 15-20 minutes. Drain well and cut it into thin round slices. Cook the onion until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes, basil, oregano and the sausage slices. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Pour the mixture over the cooked and drained pasta and toss to mix it all together.

Tips:

You can switch it up a bit by using a different sausage. Try chorizo or other Mexican, Italian or Spanish sausages. Be aware that sausages like breakfast sausage, honey garlic, Bratwurst and other sausages with non-Mediterranean flavors are not really a good flavor match for this recipe.

Make it even healthier by using whole wheat penne, or any other shape of whole wheat pasta.

You may think that spaghetti sauce has to simmer for hours, but this sauce is quite delicious. some of my favorite pasta sauces are light ones like this that cook quickly but still absorb the wonderful flavors of the herbs.

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